1984 riots case: Court refuses to give more time to CBI

''The court does not have much time. It is a straight-jacket situation,''' Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rakesh Pandit said.

The court's remarks were made when one of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots victim's counsel as well as CBI prosecutor referred to the order of the High Court on February eight directing for conclusion of trials in all pending cases within six months.

CBI prosecutor Sanjay Kumar, who submitted that the probe agency had still not completed even one fourth of the arguments, had to wrap up its submissions after the court said that there was no point reiterating contentions already mentioned in the closure report filed on April two last year.

Brinda Grover, counsel for Lakhwinder Kaur whose husband was killed in the riots, interjected during the proceedings to state that the order of the High Court to conclude trial in all riots cases was applicable in this case as well.

CBI counsel, in view of the court's observation, agreed to conclude the arguments by terming statements of Surinder Singh and Jasbir Singh, two witnesses, as "false and concocted".

The court, meanwhile, allowed Grover to file a protest petition in the matter and posted the matter for February 23.

During the arguments, the CBI counsel alleged witnesses Surinder (already dead) and Jasbir, residing in California now, had made statements only to implicate Tytler, the Congress leader.

"The version of (witness) Jasbir Singh is absolutely false and concocted. He has made statements with an intention to falsely implicate Tytler," CBI prosecutor claimed.
The CBI counsel submitted that they have examined the father, brother and son of Surinder Singh, another witness and all of them have said that he was not giving correct statements.

The Delhi High Court had on February 8 directed the lower courts to complete the trial of all pending anti-Sikh riots cases, including those related to Congress leaders Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler, within six months.

CBI had on April 2 last year sought to close the case against Tytler claiming lack of sufficient evidence against him.

The alleged role of Tytler in a case relating to the killing of three persons on November one, 1984, near Gurudwara Pulbangash in north Delhi in the aftermath of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination, was re-investigated by CBI after a court had earlier refused to accept a closure report filed by the agency against him in December, 2007.